Abstract

Global philanthropy, especially that of large US philanthropic foundations, has played an active but not unproblematic role in international development. In this paper, we theorize the institutional strategies by which global philanthropy exercises its disproportionate influence. In particular, we offer bridges, interdigitates, leapfrogging, platforms and satellites as metaphors for theorizing the connections and disconnections that philanthropic foundations engineer. We draw on the interdisciplinary scholarship on philanthropy and development to identify three epochs: scientific development (1940s–1970s), partnerships (1970s–2000s) and philanthrocapitalism (2000s–present). In each of these, we outline how philanthropic foundations have used the above metaphorical institutional mechanisms – separately and increasingly in combination and more sophisticated ways – in making connections and disconnections across developmental geographies, histories, imaginaries and institutions. Potentially generative, metaphors, we conclude, both offer ways to interpret the disproportionate power of philanthropy as well as challenge it by identifying philanthropy's underlying assumptions, telos and exclusions of development.

摘要

全球慈善事业，特别是美国大型慈善基金会的慈善事业，在国际发展中发挥了积极但并非毫无问题的作用。在本文中，我们对全球慈善活动发挥不成比例的影响的制度策略进行了理论化。特别是，我们提供桥梁，交叉指，跨越式，平台和卫星作为隐喻，以对慈善基金会设计的联系和脱节进行理论化。我们利用关于慈善与发展的跨学科奖学金来确定三个时代：科学发展（1940年代至1970年代），伙伴关系（1970年代至2000年代）和慈善资本主义（2000年代至今）。在每种情况下，我们概述了慈善基金会如何在发展地域，历史，虚构和制度之间建立联系和脱离联系时，分别使用上述隐喻性制度机制，并以越来越多的组合和更复杂的方式使用它们。我们得出结论，潜在的产生性隐喻既提供了解释慈善事业不相称力量的方式，又通过确定慈善事业的基本假设，目的和发展排斥来挑战它。